The Senate has condemned the petition filed by Convener of the Public Procurement Transparency Group, David Udoh, against Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele on grounds of intimidation.
The Directorate of Media and Public Affairs, Office of the Senate Leader, confirmed this in a statement issued in Abuja on Friday.
The statement states that the accusation is unfounded and lacks evidence to argue for its accusations.
It stated that Udoh had petitioned the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr Musa Aliyu (SAN), against Bamidele.
“Udoh accused Bamidele of intimidating and pressurising Chief Executive Officer, Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Mr Abba Aliyu to award contracts to some companies linked to him, contrary to the Public Procurement Act, 2007.”
“Already, REA has issued a statement, disputing all these vicious claims.
“Specifically, REA management noted that it was never under any pressure to compromise the integrity of its procurement process.
“Rather, it always upholds transparency, fairness and due process in all its activities including procurement.”
“We have endured enough of all sorts of cheap blackmail by faceless groups and individuals using some bloggers and social media.
“To feed the unsuspecting public with falsehoods and fallacies capable of causing further damage not just to the image of the National Assembly, but also to the public perception of Nigeria, especially among comity of nations.
“Our preliminary background checks reveal that the Public Procurement Transparency group has no record with the Corporate Affairs Commission; its Convener, David Udoh, faceless and his phone contact is practically inactive and non-functional.
“Further checks showed that this faceless group never submitted any petition to ICPC. Nevertheless, its sole aim was to use the social media to blackmail Sen. Bamidele
“Henceforth, we shall no more treat cases of cheap blackmail against the senate, its leadership and the national assembly lightly.
“But we shall treat such infractions within the confine of extant laws and whoever found guilty in the process shall face the full wrath of the laws,” the statement read.